Dei Gratia
by T. F. Crosby
Summary: There are some things in this world that can never be understood by the human mind.


_A rather odd story for my first "Supernatural" fic. Not quite what I had in mind, but then again, I never thought I'd write a fic for "Supernatural." But here it is anyway. It has a rather surreal atmosphere to it. I have it posted on LJ and since I got kudos from a friend who's a huge fan of the show, I'm posting it here too. I hope it's well received._

**Dei Gratia**

Every sound, every sight, every scent was crisp, clear. His eyes, ears, nose, focused on every tiny detail, each in its own, individual spot in the space swirling around him. Yet his mind...focused on nothing. It was like he was there and elsewhere at the same time. Everything seemed to be standing still yet moving at such a rapid pace his brain couldn't keep up. His senses were on overdrive, but his mind....  
_  
What happened? Did anything happen?__  
_  
He felt a sting on his forehead above his right eye that made him wince.

"Sorry," he heard a voice say.

He felt something press against the same spot he felt the sting.

"Well, that's it," the voice said. "You're good to go."

He glanced up at the man that had been speaking to him, who was now walking away.  
_  
That uniform. Paramedics?__  
_  
Dean's ear twitched at the sound of another voice. "How are they?"

"Physically, aside from a cut each on the forehead, they're both fine," the voice that had spoken to him just moments before replied. "They are still in shock, though. Won't do much good to ask them any questions just yet."

There was a moment of silence. "Sheriff, it's a miracle that anyone involved in this wreck was found alive. But to find anyone that's almost completely uninjured...."

As the two men continued to speak to each other, Dean's sense of hearing took a backseat to his sense of touch. He let his right hand fall to his side. His fingers brushed against something smooth and cold. He looked down. There was a flat rock lying next to him. So...he was sitting on the ground. He looked up. There was a mangled vehicle in front of him about three yards away.  
_  
What happened? A sheriff. A paramedic. A mangled wreck._ He was having trouble putting everything together. He looked around. There was another car snaked around a tree and a semi on its side. Now he was more confused. His ear twitched again, picking up on more of the conversation between the sheriff and the paramedic.

"It appears that the driver of the semi had a heart attack. More than likely he died while the vehicle was still moving." Someone else had joined in the conversation. "I don't think the two in the BMW stood a chance."

"Okay, so if the two in that tree-car didn't stand a chance," the sheriff said, "how d'you explain our two boys sittin' on the ground over there? If anyone should be dead...it's them."

In a voice Dean could barely hear, the new arrival to the conversation replied, "By the grace of God, Sheriff."  
_  
If anyone should be dead...it's them. _The sheriff's words rang through Dean's head.

"What happened, Dean?"

He turned his attention to his brother. "I...I don't...." He blinked rapidly. "I can't remem...." _He couldn't remember? Why? _He looked back at the pile of twisted metal. "Were we...?"

"Where's the Impala?" Sam said, drawing Dean away from the wreckage.

Realization hit Dean. _That's_ **_not _**_the Impala_. He reached up, touching his forehead with his fingers. An image flashed through his mind.

* * *

_"How long will it take?"__  
__  
"Depends on how lon' it takes ta get de part in. Could be a couple days. Ya can use one uh dem ol' ren'als if ya wanna car whi' ya wait."__  
__  
"Yeah, thanks."__  
__  
"What was ya doin' ta do dis ta her?"__  
__  
"You don't wanna know."_The Impala had needed a part. What part, he couldn't remember; but she was in the shop, nonetheless. So they borrowed one of the old rentals. They really hadn't needed to, but he didn't feel like walking around everywhere. It was all starting to come back. Another image flashed through his mind.

* * *

_"Ya takin' a ride der?"__  
__  
"Yeah, we're bored."__  
__  
"Jus' be careful on dose back roads. Der been some strange accidents out der."__  
__  
"We'll be careful."_He didn't give the old mechanic's statement about 'strange accidents' much thought. 'Strange' wasn't anything new for him. Sam hadn't appeared to give it much thought, either. But what the man had said next surprised them both. _God keep you._ But it was more than what he had said (or that he had initially said it in French). The man had had an odd look on his face when he said it and his gaze was intense. _Did that man know this was going to happen?_ All either he or Sam could reply with was "thanks." He had brushed it all aside as they headed out of town and hit one of the back roads through the woods.  
_  
Now he remembered. _"Dieu vous garder," he said under his breath.

"What?" Sam said.

"God keep you. It's what that mechanic said to us." He looked at Sam. "I...sorta remember what happened."

* * *

_"Would you stop messing with the radio."__  
__  
"I will. When you stop trying to get a sig--"__  
__  
"Dean. look out!"_He got his eyes back on the road just in time to see a semi barreling down on them. He had had no time to react.

"There was this light in between us and the semi," Sam said.

"Dei gratia."

Sam looked at his brother. "You heard it, too?"

"Yeah..." Dean replied.

He looked over at the three men by the ambulance that had been talking for who-knew-how-long now.

"We have one who was likely dead before impact, two more who were killed on impact. And now yer tellin' me there's no way our boys sittin' over there could've called."

"This is a dead area, Sheriff. There's no reception out here."

Dean watched the sheriff shake his head.

"What I'd like to know," the paramedic said, "is how they got out of that mangled heap virtually uninjured."

Dean looked back at Sam, who was staring at what used to be a Lincoln.

"Dean? How did we--"

Before Sam could finish his sentence, the sheriff and paramedic approached them.

"How'd you boys get out of that?" the sheriff queried.

Dean stared straight ahead. The only words that escaped his lips were, "Dei gratia."

The paramedic looked back at the wreck. "By the grace of God."

* * *

The radio crackled as he adjusted the station setting. A clear voice finally came through.  
_  
"Yet another accident occurred on Pine Road early this afternoon, one much stranger than previous accidents. This particular accident involved two cars and a semi."__  
_  
The man's ear twitched.  
_  
"...driver of the semi had had a heart attack and died before the collision occurred. One car was slammed into a tree, killing both occupants instantly."__  
_  
The man stopped his work to focus completely on the news report.  
_  
"...stranger still was that the two occupants of the mangled Lincoln were found sitting on the roadside with only minor cuts to their foreheads.__  
__  
"Adding to the already bizarre story, there is no record of a call to either the sheriff or the paramedics.__  
__  
"The two men that were in the Lincoln have no memory of how they ended up on the side of the road with only minor injuries.__  
__  
"In other news--"__  
_  
The man turned the radio off and returned to his work. "Dieu vous garder, mes frères."

_**fin**_

_I hope you liked it. Please review. I would be very grateful. (That is, if you have something nice to say. Yeah, that would be good.) _


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